Sovereign

Philosophy

First Contact

Home Planet

Systems

Ships

The Vanduul (pronounced: / Van-DOOL /)[1] are a race in Star Citizen. They are highly aggressive and appear to travel the galaxy in hordes, raiding colonies to survive.

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The Vanduul motivation is not pure bloodthirstiness - they're after resources, rather than just kill tallies. So they're more interested in getting you out of the way quickly than just running around playing whack-a-pilot.

Contents

History

Humanity first encountered the Vanduul in 2681, when they attacked human colonies in the Orion System. During raids, they would not destroy colony communications tower, and would leave more valuable items in favor of trivial or useless ones.[4] Things haven’t really improved since then. The UEE’s entire interaction with the Vanduul has been through combat.[5]

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There was silence after the first Vanduul attack in 2681. Once the UEE figured out that they were dealing with an entirely new species, Humanity braced itself for… something. Though the military prepared for the possibility of diplomatic contact, the brutality of the attack on the Dell Township strongly indicated that second contact would most likely be violent as well. But for weeks, while a fighting force of UEE Navy and Marines waited, nothing happened.

After the end of the Messer Era, the new Imperator attempted to stop the violence and open diplomatic relations with the Vanduul. The disparate structure of the Vanduul civilization makes it nearly impossible to negotiate with the species as a whole, but none of the individual clans offered anything but hostility — the diplomatic emissaries were exclusively met with laser fire. One result is that we don’t know why they hate us so much. While it’s very easy to see why the UEE refers to them as barbaric, the Vanduul are not stupid or merely savages.

Homeworld

Currently there is no known homeworld of the Vanduul.

Political system

Meritocracy

There is little to no communication between the different roaming clans. Each fleet operates as its own society with its own independent set of rules, laws and customs as decreed by that clan’s chieftain.

As such, it is probably impossible to make peace or establish diplomatic relations with the Vanduul as a whole since there is no cohesive civilization.

Clan Theory

Dr. Arlow Gellis, a renowned anthropologist, released a study exploring Vanduul social dynamics. By comparing the prominent glyphs on the Vanduul ships, he introduced what became known as Clan Theory, in which he hypothesized that the Vanduul organized themselves in self-sufficient groups rather than adopting a species-wide government. As interaction with the Vanduul settled into a prolonged series of light skirmishes, Gellis’s theory became more and more accepted, and a sense developed across the Empire that neither diplomacy nor outright war was at all likely.[7]

Society

The Vanduul’s family structure is also very distinct from Humanity. There is one tradition that exists throughout all of the Vanduul; once a child reaches adulthood (usually around the Human equivalency of 13-14), they are banished from their family. Before they go, the parents will fashion a knife for their child. This knife will be the child’s only possession as he/she sets out into adulthood. They will receive no money, housing, or support of any kind from their former family. Everything that the newly recognized adult achieves starts with the knife and grows from there.

Therefore, there is no known hereditary transfer of resources or influence in Vanduul society

Consequently, it is believed that these knives are treasured possessions that Vanduul keep for the rest of their lives. While it is possible to legitimately gain one through personal combat, if the Vanduul discover that someone has obtained a knife through theft or sale, they are known to retrieve these items though violence.[8]

Religion

Vanduul religion appears to be structured around an emphasis on self reliance.

It is theorized that Vanduul youth are educated in the lives of exemplary Vanduul of the past: specifically the choices they made, and how they overcame their environment and distinguished themselves.[9]

Culture

Again, little is known about Vanduul culture other than that they disperse into different hordes. When the captured Vanduul carrier-ship designated X12 was studied, DNA analysis uncovered a wide range of genetic diversity, implying social interaction beyond the single horde. Also notable, all bodies studied from X12 are male, further suggesting that there must be some central convergence of Vanduul groups where mating and other co-operative activities take place.[10]

Knife imagery appears throughout their media, with printed images of knives being common on the walls of personal quarters. Their chapels feature elaborate stained glass images of knives. This blade focused imagery seems to also express itself in their starship designs.[10]

Every Vanduul found on X12 was also found clutching a blade. these blades are believed to be crafted by their owners, as the owner's musculature perfectly matched the impurities in their blades.[10] although all blade compositions suggest a single point of origin.

Personality Traits

From a purely anthropological perspective, the Vanduul behave like classic hunter-gatherers. They are a very insular species. They rarely interact with those outside of their clan, even other Vanduul.

In combat, the Vanduul are relentless and merciless. In a textbook raid, they will hit hard and fast and never (intentionally) leave survivors. Over the decades, they’ve adapted their tactics as they’ve learned the purpose of Human structures, as most clans will hit the CommStations first, then target landing yards to minimize the potential resistance in the air before sweeping through on foot.

Is it possible for a singular human to establish trade with the Vanduul? Yes. However, there is as of yet no commonly accepted guidelines for engaging in Vanduul trade.

Diplomatic Status

Xi’An : While distance plays a factor (there are a lot of unfriendly systems between the Vanduul and the Xi’An), their limited contact has not been particularly fruitful. Some clans have established tentative trading relations but the majority of Vanduul regard the Xi’An as manipulators and cowards, while the Xi’An view the Vanduul as short-sighted barbaric thugs.